Kelly Krauskopf, formerly the team president of Pacers Gaming, has been hired as the Indiana Pacers’ assistant general manager, becoming first female assistant GM in NBA history, according to a report by ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.
Prior to leading Pacers Gaming, Krauskopf had been president and general manager of the WNBA’s Indiana Fever for 17 years. She worked with USA Basketball’s women’s national team, aiding in the selection process of three gold-medal-winning Olympic teams. She stepped down in 2017 in order to take charge of the Pacers’ NBA 2K League team.
Krauskopf guided the Fever to a WNBA championship franchise in 2013 WNBA title, and the team has advanced to three Finals appearances since 2009. In 1996 she became the WNBA’s first director of operations. Krauskopf starred in basketball at Texas A&M in the 1980s.
Now, Krauskopf will focus solely on the Pacers, according to Wojnarowski, and consequently will give up her WNBA and NBA 2K League duties.
Pacers Gaming made a mid-season run toward the playoffs, resurrecting their season with a 5-2 run in seven games after starting the campaign 0-4. The team ultimately fell short of the playoffs, finishing the year at 5-9, before losing “Mr. 103” Shockey in the expansion draft to Nets GC. The Pacers protected Wolf74 and Swizurk and acquired MVP candidate Lets_Get_It_Ramo from Pistons GT in exchange for a first round pick (No. 4 overall).
